


Soaked Clean Through

by masterwords



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Aaron Hotchner Needs a Hug, Aaron Hotchner Whump, Episode: s02e12 Profiler Profiled, Episode: s02e19 Ashes and Dust, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Murder, Protective David Rossi, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:01:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29010951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masterwords/pseuds/masterwords
Summary: “I got here yesterday, around lunch time.  I went straight to my mother’s house, because it was too early to check in at the motel. I’m staying at the Starlight Inn, room 4.  I checked in around 6pm and was there until you knocked on my door.”“Convenient,” Henry muttered, leaning forward on the table.  Aaron didn’t blink. “Can anyone vouch for you being in your hotel room?”“No.” He had nothing to hide, and nothing to gain by scrambling or lying. “You don’t have enough to arrest me, and I can sit here for 72 hours without a problem.  I am sorry that Mark is dead, we may not have been friends anymore but that doesn’t mean I killed him. If you let me call my team, they can help you find the person that did do this…or you can hold me here, and spend all of your time trying to break me down.  You might even succeed, but because I didn’t kill Mark, it won’t bring you any closer to justice.”
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/David Rossi
Comments: 10
Kudos: 62





	Soaked Clean Through

**Author's Note:**

> We’re in the process of trying to move to a new town and buy a house and blah blah blah, so it’s been a while since I’ve written but I have been working on this one for a couple of weeks, and I decided while I’m sitting in this hotel room trapped with my children watching Wild Kratts…I’d finish it. It’s almost 7000 words, I’m sorry. It just got away from me. It is set sometime post-100, and is in the same vein as Profiler, Profiled. (References to Ashes and Dust, and In Name and Blood as well.)

72 hours. They couldn’t hold him for longer than 72 hours without making an arrest, he knew that. It didn’t change the fact that he was sitting alone in an interrogation room that smelled like pine sol and coffee with a sickening undercurrent of vomit. People threw up in these rooms often. Nerves, mostly. But maybe the smell had something to do with it – there was no hiding that acrid, bile smell. There were places on the floor that it had eaten the finish away. Aaron sat stoic, hands folded on the table, eyes trained straight ahead. He hadn’t done anything wrong, and of course he knew that, but they didn’t. He wouldn’t be giving them a show. 

“The name Mark Baron ring a bell?” the detective, a man named Henry, asked. Aaron sighed. They both knew it did. Henry and Aaron grew up with Mark, it was a small town, everyone knew everyone. Mark and Aaron had been a grade above Henry, but they all hung around in the same feral pack as children and grew apart as teenagers, even became rivals. Mark and Aaron had been rivals in everything – track, wrestling, grades, dating. They were evenly matched in nearly all things, even had similar family structures, each with a younger sibling (Mark with a sister, Aaron a brother) and a prominent father (Mark’s father was a doctor, Aaron’s a lawyer). They were born to be best friends or rivals. They were tied to one another by the kind of childhood destiny you just couldn’t ignore. Mark had been a better looking young boy, with long wispy blonde hair and striking blue eyes, that kind of angelic face that everyone loved and fawned over while Aaron, with his dark hair and eyes and his sharp features made people think he was always up to something. That couldn’t have been further from the truth, but adults always had their minds made up about the two of them. Aaron would take the fall for trouble Mark caused. It didn’t bother him for years, he could handle it. By high school, though, it had caught up to them and Aaron would no longer allow himself to take the licks, he stood up for himself, and Mark didn’t like that. 

“Don’t play games with me, Henry,” Aaron said, his voice cool, collected. Henry smiled. 

“So then you’ll know why you’re here?”

“Not a clue. I haven’t spoken to Baron in years.”

“No?” Henry smiled. It made Aaron feel sick. “Mark was found dead in the woods last night, shot in the back. When exactly did you get into town, Hotchner?” Aaron stared at him, his eyes dead cold. He thought of Mark, dead in the woods, and it made his stomach turn. They hadn’t been friends in years, but when you’re that close with someone as a child, it never really goes away. He closed his eyes, thought of Mark’s pale blonde hair that always fell wispy like rain into his eyes, got stuck in the mess of food or mud on his cheeks, the way he’d always catch the frogs or turtles and hand them to Aaron because he hated to get into the water, hated the way the slimy rocks and crawdads felt on his feet. Mark who always had an adventure up his sleeve – a pirate treasure map, hand scrawled, with real buried treasure at the end of it, or a blueprint he’d drawn up to make a hideout for their gang. He always provided Aaron with an escape from real life. When he opened his eyes again, he steadied himself, and swallowed the feelings of loss down hard. 

“I got here yesterday, around lunch time. I went straight to my mother’s house, because it was too early to check in at the motel. I’m staying at the Starlight Inn, room 4. I checked in around 6pm and was there until you knocked on my door.” 

“Convenient,” Henry muttered, leaning forward on the table. Aaron didn’t blink. “Can anyone vouch for you being in your hotel room?”

“No.” He had nothing to hide, and nothing to gain by scrambling or lying. “You don’t have enough to arrest me, and I can sit here for 72 hours without a problem. I am sorry that Mark is dead, we may not have been friends anymore but that doesn’t mean I killed him. If you let me call my team, they can help you find the person that did do this…or you can hold me here, and spend all of your time trying to break me down. You might even succeed, but because I didn’t kill Mark, it won’t bring you any closer to justice.” 

Henry regarded Aaron suspiciously for a moment and smiled. It was not a nice smile, it was the kind that sent a shiver down your spine. “I’ll call your team for you.”

By the time Dave was in the room, Aaron was exhausted and cold. At least three other officers had cycled through, asking him a barrage of questions that he’d already answered, each time receiving the same answers. They assumed he’d memorized every detail of his testimony, never really considering that it was simply the truth and he had no reason to lie. Dave looked at him sadly, hating every second of seeing such a man as Aaron Hotchner in this situation, after devoting his life and giving everything up for the protection of others. 

“Aaron,” Dave said softly, sitting across the table from his friend. “Why do they think you did it? Everyone in this station is absolutely convinced it couldn’t have been anyone but you.”

“I don’t know,” Aaron replied, looking only at Dave. He could smell Dave’s cologne, that sweet cherry tobacco and clove smell that made him feel intoxicated. He desperately wanted to wrap himself in Dave’s arms and breathe it in, to feel comfort right now in this cold, musty room. “Mark and I were good friends when we were little, and I went away to boarding school for a couple of years – when I came back, he acted like we were enemies. High school was a series of competitions between the two of us, it was mostly friendly but there were a few times that it came to blows. I was scrappier than he was, I had…more to prove. More anger maybe. The last fight we had was right after my father was diagnosed with lung cancer…I beat him in the 400 meter dash, he ran up behind me and shoved me into the stack of hurdles on the track. I got up and jumped on him, the coaches had to tear us apart, bloody and full of teenage rage. They didn’t allow us to be in the same sports after that.”

“And you haven’t seen him since high school?”

“No, not really. In passing maybe but that’s it.” Aaron didn’t feel the need to elaborate – that he didn’t come back here often, if he could help it. Every few years he and Sean would come to visit their mother, but he would avoid everyone and everything. Aaron always stayed at the Starlight Inn, right outside of town, to make sure he didn’t have to stay in the thick of that place. He hadn’t maintained friendships with anyone, he barely even spoke to his own mother or brother. Haley had been the only thing he took with him when he walked away, and he could feel the resentment in the faces of people he saw when he came back. 

“So why would they think you’d harbor a grudge for this long?”

“When you grow up in a small town, and you stay in that small town, things have a way of being stunted. I haven’t thought of Mark Baron in decades, but he probably thought about me every day. They go to the bar and get piss drunk and talk about their wild high school days. They all blame me for what happened to Haley.”

“Aaron,” Dave said, his voice hushed. “These guys want you. They look like they’ve done their homework. How much does the team know about your childhood?” 

“Dave…” Aaron said, a small flash of something that looked like sudden fear in his eyes. Dave shrugged. “Nothing. You’re the only one…” For the first time, he felt panic. Not because he thought he was going to be put away for murder, he trusted that it would work itself out, but in the process he was going to be exposed. The room swam around him. 

“I’ll do my best to intercept what I can.” 

“Thank you,” Aaron said softly, but he didn’t feel better. He hadn’t considered just how badly these guys might want to pin this on him. “Mark’s father was a doctor. The only one in town. My records won’t be hard to find. Dave…” His eyes were pleading now, but he tried to keep his face solemn, stoic. He knew they were being watched. Listened to. Everyone in town knew Aaron’s history, but his team didn’t. He kept his past safeguarded, even from the people who were closest to him. Especially from them. 

“I said I’ll do my best. I’m not sure I can promise more than that. We have to get you out of here, that’s our top priority. They said his body was found in the woods, I sent Emily and Reid out there to check out the area. Morgan and JJ are talking to the victim’s family. I’m staying here to keep an eye on things. Aaron, we will get you out of here.”

“I know,” Aaron sighed, meeting Dave’s eyes, looking a little less calm than when he’d come in. “I didn’t do anything, Dave. It’s my mother’s birthday today, Sean and I came to surprise her. I didn’t kill anyone.”

“We will find who did this,” Dave assured him, wishing he could reach out and touch his friend. Reassure him that they’d get him out. He looked around the room, the vile smell getting to him now. 

“Will you call Sean and tell him not to wait for me? Give him some money to take her out somewhere nice, from me. I’ll pay you back when I get out of here.” 

Dave smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

The morning stretched into afternoon in slow motion. No one came to see Aaron and he sat at the table, trying to keep himself calm. Awake. He was exhausted. The room was getting colder, uncomfortably cold. 

“You think we don’t know what your motive was? Here’s your motive,” came Henry’s voice before he was even fully in the room. He sauntered over to the table and slapped down a photo of Mark Baron with Haley and Jack around a bonfire. Haley and Mark were side by side, his arm around her shoulders, beers in hand. They were grinning, she looked so happy. 

“What is this?” Aaron asked, feeling his insides twist. 

“Did you know your little lady was stepping out on you, Hotchner?” 

Aaron felt sick. He thought about the phone calls to the house, the dead silence on the other end of the line, and then Haley’s phone ringing in her purse. It happened more often than he’d care to admit. He’d shrugged it off, especially after the divorce, figuring it was probably just her lawyer. Something had gnawed at him, suspicion, but he would rather choke on it than confront her. He always just let it go. 

“No,” he said, because it was true. Nothing to be gained from lying. Henry smiled. 

“She said you were in San Francisco, on a case. She always came around when you were gone. Something about fires that time, I didn’t really care. Your life doesn’t interest me. I’m sure a lot of people are impressed but I’m not. What does impress me is that you put up with your wife’s unfaithfulness for years, and now you pretend you had no idea. Isn’t it your job to see these things?”

“Yes,” Aaron said softly, feeling his heart break inside of his chest. It was hard to breathe. His features remained stony, lips pressed in a thin line. 

“Didn’t your father step out on your mom? I remember him coming around my back door some nights…you think he had a thing with my mom? She told me he came by to fix plumbing problems…your dad know how to fix pipes Hotchner?” Henry asked, and Aaron caught hold of his sadness and pushed it down deep, replacing it with anger. 

“Is this about solving a murder or humiliating me?” he asked, scowling. He wouldn’t look at the photo again. Her smile was burned into his mind, how happy she looked, but that wasn’t the awful part – it was Jack. She’d taken their son with her. He couldn’t blame her for wanting someone to give her attention or love or whatever it was that Mark had given her, he’d always worshiped the ground she walked on. He couldn’t fault her for searching out the things she needed because he hadn’t been giving her any of it, but Jack. That she’d do it in front of Jack made his veins pump ice and the bile rise in the back of his throat. While he was sitting with a woman dying in the burn ward, watching a man commit suicide to save people and his cause, while his soul was being shattered into bits and pieces – she was here, with Mark Baron, and she’d brought Jack along for the ride. He could remember sitting in the SUV with Emily, talking to Haley on the phone, he could hear people in the background but he’d been so preoccupied by the case he didn’t think to question it. And it didn’t matter, he’d given her no choice. It was almost like she was begging him to confront her, to show that it even mattered and he couldn’t even muster it. 

Henry left the room satisfied. The photo stayed there, on the table. He was racking his brain now, putting the pieces together. It was possible he knew and he just didn’t want to see it, or think about it, or be upset about it. When his father was unfaithful, he’d gone chasing him down, only to find out more than he’d wanted – yes, he’d confirmed his father’s infidelity, and he’d also uncovered his father’s cancer. It wasn’t worth it to know. He stood up and walked from wall to wall, trying to warm himself up. 

Morgan and JJ were at the Baron house. It was a large white house, the sort that brings up images of old plantations, set on a sea of emerald. There was no farm land, just grass and trees as far as the eye can see, perfectly manicured. A kind faced elderly woman answered the door, smiling but sad. 

“Mrs. Baron? I’m Agent Jennifer Jareau, this is Agent Derek Morgan, we’re with the FBI. We need to ask you some questions about your son. May we come in?” JJ was always so good with families. She had that kind, empathetic nature that made people want to talk, want to be near her. Morgan hung back and took in the surroundings. Mrs. Baron invited them in, offered them lemonade, seated them in the parlor. Mr. Baron sat in a wing back chair, smoking a cigar nearby. The walls were lined with bookcases, full of medical journals and classic novels, old knickknacks, family heirlooms. It smelled like tobacco and old wood. 

“Mr. Baron?” Morgan asked, extending his hand to the older man who shook it without standing up. Morgan didn’t mind, the man looked old and frail. “I’m sorry for your loss.” 

“Thank you, Agent,” Mr. Baron said, puffing on his cigar. Morgan and JJ took their seats on the sofa and gratefully accepted Mrs. Baron’s offer of lemonade. 

“Can you tell us if there is anyone you can think of who might have had motive to…” Morgan began, but Mr. Baron shook his head. 

“No. I know they’re trying to pin it on that Hotchner boy but he had no cause to do it. That poor boy’s had nothing but devils in his life, my son included, but he wouldn’t do this.” 

“He and your son didn’t get along?”

Mrs. Baron wiped at her cheeks, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. “Mark and Aaron were so close as boys. So close. They made up adventures, spent all summer long splashing in the creek, creating worlds to live in that were far away from here. Aaron’s father was a troubled man, you see, but Mark, he’d bring him here for help.”

JJ and Morgan glanced at each other, both knowing they were stepping into some very private, very dangerous territory. “I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.” 

“I’m sorry to do this to all of you, he always was so private. I hope he’ll understand why I had to do this. Here,” Mr. Baron had maneuvered over to his shelves and produced a file the size of a textbook. “As soon as I heard they’d arrested him, I had this pulled, to protect him. Didn’t want the Sheriff making his way down to my practice with a warrant, he’d only use it against the boy. Henry’s always had it out for that Hotchner boy. You should have it. Keep it safe.” 

JJ took the file and with some trepidation, opened the front cover. Staring back at her was Aaron’s face, he looked to be about ten, with long inky black hair falling down into his eyes and a bruised cheek. He looked scrappy, like just about every little boy she’d ever encountered, but she knew there was no reason for a doctor to have a photo of him if it wasn’t something sinister. She looked over at Morgan before flipping the page. Photo after photo, hand scrawled reports. Bruises, stitches, broken bones. Her hands shook as she turned the pages until finally Morgan reached over and pulled it out of her hands, shutting it and setting it on his lap. She nodded. 

“Are there any police reports that coincide with your file?” JJ asked, gulping down her sadness. “Anything they could already have?”

“Cops never got involved,” Mr. Baron said, shaking his head. “Small towns like this have their own way of dealing with things. His dad was the town’s lawyer, and a very well respected one at that. He had a lot of power around here, if you catch my drift. Lotta people owed him things that kept them quiet when it came to things he did…once or twice, I tried to turn him in but she wouldn’t press charges, and the sheriff wouldn’t even listen to my report.”

“He was always such a sweet boy,” Mrs. Baron said sadly. “Such good manners, always so polite. He and Mark were so close. His family sent him away to boarding school, and things were never the same between he and Mark. That Brooks girl caused problems for them, too. She liked Aaron, you see, but Mark had been in love with her for years. I was so sorry to hear of her passing.”

“Did Mark have any enemies, ma'am?” Morgan asked, eager to change the subject. He felt sick. 

“Oh no,” she said softly, dabbing at her eyes again. “Not Mark. He only ever had problems with Aaron. When Haley came back to visit her parents, she and Mark got to talking at the bar and one thing lead to another…he didn’t do it to hurt Aaron, you have to believe that. He’d always loved that girl.” 

JJ flinched. This was up there with one of the worst days of her life, she’d realized. She sipped her lemonade. “So he and Haley…”

“She was so sad and lonely,” Mrs. Baron said softly. Mr. Baron cut in, his tone clipped, almost mean.

“What she did was wrong, Violet. There isn’t another word for it. What she did with Mark was wrong and we all know it.”

Morgan sighed. “So she and Mark were messing around while she was married to Hotch,” he muttered, more to himself than anything else. He remembered being in Hotch’s shoes, being the one in the interrogation room while his team were out digging into every nook and cranny of his existence and it made him feel ill knowing he was now the one doing it. “This isn’t right.”

“I’m sorry?” Mrs. Baron asked. 

“He wouldn’t want us to know any of this. It isn’t right.”

“I know…” JJ whispered. “Is there anything else you can tell us about Mark? What would he have been doing in the woods at night?”

“He and his friends liked to hunt coyotes and hogs. It’s not illegal to hunt those at night, he was well within his rights to do it. They’d pitch a tent out in the woods and bring their beers and make a weekend of it.” Mr. Baron offered with a shrug. “I know how that might sound, but it’s what you do out in these parts.”

“Was he with anyone that night?”

“Oh, sure, but no one saw anything. They’ve all been questioned.”

“Right…” Morgan said, quietly. “We should get back. Thank you for your hospitality.”

The precinct was cold. Aaron was shivering, pacing back and forth to try and stay warm. He was exhausted, and his polo shirt and jeans weren’t doing much good to keep him comfortable. When Dave entered again with one of his pullover sweaters, it was a godsend. 

“Thought you might be chilly, so I popped over to your hotel room with the officers. They ransacked the place but didn’t find anything.” Dave said with a small smile, trying to be encouraging. Aaron pulled the sweater over his head and folded his arms over his chest. 

“Thank you.” 

“What’s this?” Dave asked, picking up the photo, eyes darting from it to Aaron and back again. Aaron looked crushed. He couldn’t hide it. “Oh. Oh Aaron.” 

“It’s okay,” he said, his first lie of the day. It wasn’t okay, but it was in the past. The two people in that photo were both dead. “She deserved to be happy and I wasn’t there.”

“No, Aaron. That’s not how it works. Listen, the sheriff is requesting information on Foyet and Haley’s deaths, and I can’t get Strauss to block it – he must have some pretty compelling arguments to get that. I’m going to try and handle what I can.” 

“He doesn’t need a compelling argument, she’s wanted my badge for years. She’ll probably hand deliver the files just to see me sitting in here.” Dave nodded, he knew Aaron was probably right. 

“He’s going to twist what happened to prove you’re capable of murder,” Dave said quietly, and Aaron nodded solemnly. He knew. It wouldn’t take a genius to connect the dots, if they were so inclined. He’d been cleared of wrongdoing, but he had permanent damage in his hand that reminded him every day of what he’d done and how brutal it had been. The constant ache in his knuckles, in his joints, told him exactly what he was capable of. 

“I didn’t know,” Aaron said, coolly, and Dave cocked his head to the side, questioning. “I know he’s planted a seed of doubt in your mind now too. I had suspicions over the years, but I didn’t know and I certainly had no idea she was seeing Mark.”

“I believe you.” He meant it. Of course he did. He trusted Aaron implicitly. 

“Thanks, Dave.” Dave gave him the most reassuring smile he could, but he knew Morgan and JJ were on their way back to the station and by the sound of their voices, they’d been given information they hadn’t expected. Dave met them in the conference room and shut the door behind them, knowing he was about to be running damage control. The looks on their faces told him everything he needed to know in order to proceed. 

“Rossi,” Morgan said, his voice sounding far less confident than usual. “Did you know?”

“Know what?” Feigning innocence. It didn’t come naturally to him, and the look on Morgan’s face said he knew Dave wasn’t being truthful. The three of them sat around the table awkwardly, like they’d never been alone in a room together before. The air was stifling, stale. 

“The victim’s father was the town’s doctor,” JJ said, interrupting the men and their stare down. “He told us about…”

“Is it relevant?” Dave asked, stopping her in her tracks. She looked stricken. “To this case, is it relevant?”

“It could be,” Morgan sighed. “We all know about the cycle of abuse. Rossi, what his dad did to him…”

“He isn’t his father. This information does not leave this room, are we clear? You’ve never questioned his motives before, why now?”

“The vic’s father said Hotch’s dad had a reputation for being a flirt. Leaving his wife home with the kids and seeing some of the single moms around town. Did Hotch know Haley was messing around with the vic? For years, his dad said. She didn’t bother to hide it from what I understand, it was well known around here. I don’t know Rossi…”

“What are you saying Morgan?” JJ asked, her eyes wide. She looked like she was going to be sick. 

“I’m not saying anything,” he muttered. “They just…they have more of a case than we assumed they would is all. It seemed pretty cut and dry but now it isn’t.” 

“He didn’t know,” Dave said softly, folding his hands on the table. “I believe him. You should too, he’s never given you any reason not to trust him.”

Morgan nodded, and JJ followed suit. “I know,” JJ said softly, putting her hand over her mouth, like she was going to be sick. “Rossi, we saw…pictures.” She set the file on the table and slid it over to Dave who palmed it into his lap but didn’t open it. 

“Don’t,” Dave warned, shaking his head. Tears welled up in her eyes. Morgan slid over toward her and pulled her into a hug. 

“Rossi,” he said, his voice still so thin and solemn. “It was bad.”

“I know.” 

“The kind of bad that we’d see and think, yeah, it makes sense that they’d turn out this way…makes sense they’d kill someone.”

“I know,” Dave repeated. “But he didn’t. You know he didn’t. These people want to pin something on him, we need to make sure they don’t. We need to stop looking at him and find out who did shoot Baron.” 

Tears fell down JJ’s cheeks, splashing into her lap. “How do I look at him and not see those pictures? Rossi, they were so awful.”

“Who he is hasn’t changed. He’s not the child in those photos. He went to great lengths to make sure that was in the past. He knew the odds and he beat them, let’s make sure all of his work wasn’t in vain. We need to help him and we need to respect his privacy.”

Back in the interrogation room, Henry was leaning over Aaron. “I saw what you did to George Foyet. With your bare hands. Apple didn’t fall far from the tree, did it?” 

Aaron looked up at Henry, his eyes narrowed. “That man killed Haley and was going to kill our son,” Aaron said through gritted teeth. He felt his lungs seize in his chest, tried to steady his breathing. Henry threw the file down in front of Aaron, letting the photo of Haley dead fall out in front of him. It slid across the table and Aaron reached out, pressing his palm against it just before it slipped over the edge. His hands were shaking, these were the images he saw in his nightmares. The images that woke him in a cold sweat, forced him to rush to the bathroom blindly to vomit night after night. 

“So you say,” Henry leaned close, his breath hot on Aaron’s cheek. “But you didn’t shoot him. You beat him to death because you’re just like your asshole home wrecking father.” Aaron stared straight ahead, jaw set, teeth gritted. He didn’t move. Henry stood up, feigned that he was walking away, and turned on his heel quickly, cracking Aaron in the jaw with a left hook that knocked the man out of his chair. “You killed my friend, you bastard!”

Dave rushed into the room shouting obscenities, followed by two of the officers who pulled Henry out of the room still fuming. Crouching beside Aaron, Dave looked at his jaw, his split lip and shook his head. 

“I’m fine,” Aaron muttered, letting Dave help him back up into his chair. “He’s wanted to do that since he put me in here. It wasn’t a surprise.” One of the officers brought in an ice pack from the break room apologetically and Aaron nodded, smiling. He couldn’t remember the young man’s name, but he knew him, he’d been friends with Sean. Too young for Aaron to hang around with. Dave reached out and grabbed the photos of Haley and Foyet, slid them back into the file, and tucked the file under his arm. 

“Sit tight. Prentiss and Reid are following a lead. Turns out Baron was hunting with some buddies, and one of them hasn’t talked yet.”

“Henry said,” Aaron began, but stopped himself. He understood. “Right. He’s covering for someone.” 

“Bingo. His brother Stephen was out with the group of guys and he hasn’t been seen since. They all said they forgot Stephen was out there when Prentiss asked, said he was so quiet and it was his first time. Slipped their minds.” Dave rolled his eyes, Aaron just looked down at the table. He’d always liked Stephen, he was a good kid. He was big for his age, they’d played football together and the kid could block like no one Aaron had ever seen. 

“There’s a tree-house back in the woods, a real house with a roof and everything. It’s passed down from generation to generation of kids, my grandfather helped build it. A super secret clubhouse for the locals, but sometimes hunters use it too. It’s so deep only locals would ever find it. If he’s hiding, he’s there.”

Dave made a few calls, found someone who could take Prentiss and Reid to the location and sent Morgan and JJ to Stephen’s house. It didn’t take them long to find him and to find out what had actually happened. He owned up to it right away and he was a mess. Just as Rossi had suspected, it was an accident and he’d been so terrified that he’d run. He had no idea they were holding Aaron, accusing him of murder and he came willingly to confess. Henry was mortified, but he never apologized to Aaron. Didn’t even look him in the eye when Dave opened up the interrogation room and walked his friend out. Aaron paused when he saw Stephen, felt terrible for the younger man. 

“Just a moment, Dave,” Aaron whispered, letting his friend walk ahead. He reached into his wallet and produced a business card for a friend in the area. “Stephen? Here’s the number to a good lawyer. Tell him I sent you, he’ll take care of you.” 

“I’m sorry, Hotchy,” Stephen said, tears in his eyes. “I shoulda come in straight away. I panicked. Mark was my friend, he convinced me to come out that night…god…” He broke down. Aaron shook his head and patted Stephen on the shoulder. He didn’t have any words of encouragement, nothing to say at all, so he just squeezed a little, patted, and walked toward Dave slowly. 

“Let’s get out of here,” Dave said, holding the door open for his friend. Aaron walked out of the station, into the cool evening air. The team was waiting beside two black SUVs that looked out of place amid the rural setting. Prentiss and Reid were in the middle of an argument about something no one cared about, and Morgan and JJ were just staring at the ground and the sky, anywhere but at Aaron. 

“It’s my mother’s birthday,” Aaron muttered, looking at the SUVs that could remove him from this hell. But he wasn’t ready yet. Wasn’t ready to look his team in the eye, wasn’t ready to see the looks on their faces after what they’d seen that day. “I can’t leave yet.” 

“Mind if I stick around too?” Dave asked, searching Aaron’s face for some level of understanding that Dave didn’t think he should be alone. Aaron hummed and shrugged. He and Dave said a quick goodbye to the rest of the team and walked silently down the road toward the motel, it was only about a mile and Aaron just wanted to be out in the open. JJ had offered to give them a ride, but she could barely look Aaron in the eye and when she finally had, he could see the tears there and it made him wildly uncomfortable. As they walked through the parking lot, toward his room, Aaron finally found the words. 

“What do they know?” he asked, his voice painfully raw all of a sudden. Dave sucked in a deep breath. 

“JJ and Morgan were given your records from the doctor, they know…everything. I’m not sure whether Prentiss or Reid have any information.” 

Aaron nodded, balled up his fists at his side but stayed quiet for a long moment. “Right.” Silence again as they entered the motel room. Aaron’s bag was strewn all over his bed, his toiletries thrown on the floor. The place looked like Guns n Roses had been staying there. He stood in the mess of his personal belongings, taking in the scene and closed his eyes. Par for the course, after the last day. Accused of murder, turned inside out in front of his friends, his personal belongings violated. 

“Dave,” Aaron whispered. “I’m going to take a shower.” Without waiting for a response, he stepped over the mess on the floor and went straight for the bathroom – a dimly lit, dingy yellow room with a fluorescent light bulb flickering in the ceiling. The shower was hot, scalding, and beat against his skin hard. He just stood under the water, letting it melt the day off of him. When he finished, was ready to face the rest of the day, he stepped out and toweled off, prepared to step back into the clothes he’d already been wearing but instead found that while he’d been in his trance, Dave had set new clothes beside the sink for him. He smiled for the first time that day. 

“Thank you, Dave,” he said, coming out of the bathroom still towel drying his hair. Inky black spikes stuck up in haphazard chunks and he mussed it down with his fingertips, looking around the place – Dave had cleaned everything up, packed his bags again, and made some very bitter smelling coffee. The room was spotless, probably better than when he’d first come in. 

“Thought you could use a win today,” Dave offered, sipping the hot brown acid parading as coffee in his cup. “I’m sorry about everything.” He didn’t know how to say what he really meant. Sorry you found out that your wife was unfaithful? Sorry you were suspected of murdering your childhood friend? Or how about sorry that all of your secrets were just put under the microscope? 

“Thanks,” Aaron replied, sitting at the foot of his bead to put on his socks. “You want to come up to my mom’s place with me? Sean texted and said they brought dessert back, she’s putting on some coffee. She likes coffee…it’ll be better than whatever that is you’re drinking now.”

Dave nodded, setting the mug of sludge down. “I’d love to.” 

The drive was quiet, both men sat with the windows down, the cool breeze swirling through the front seat. Dave stared out the window, taking in the scenery while letting Aaron be alone with his thoughts. That was the beauty of their friendship, the depth of their love for one another. It went beyond friendship at times, when they felt the need for more. There was no talk of commitment, no jealousy, but there were plenty of nights that would otherwise have been very lonely. Dave had already made up his mind that Aaron wouldn’t be lonely tonight, and Aaron was appreciative. The driveway was long and bumpy, but the house looked like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Somehow, knowing what he knew about Aaron’s childhood, it was hard to picture this house being a part of that narrative. The door was wide open, two silhouettes illuminated in the bright interior light. They didn’t wait for Aaron and Dave to get out of the car before rushing toward them, mother first and then Sean wrapping Aaron in hugs. Sean shook Dave’s hand, told him it was nice to see him again, and Aaron introduced his mother. 

“Oh, David, I’ve heard so much about you it feels like I know you already.” Dave looked over at Aaron who just shrugged and shook his head. He found it hard to believe that Aaron had said anything at all about him, he wasn’t exactly known for his monologues. 

“Happy Birthday, mom,” Aaron said, dropping to the back of the line as they all shuffled inside. He closed the door behind them and followed to the kitchen where there was a pie and four plates laid out with coffee cups steaming already. 

“I can’t believe Henry would think you could hurt Mark like that,” Aaron’s mother muttered, slicing up the pie and putting it on plates.

“Can we talk about something else?” Aaron asked, looking down at his hands folded in his lap. His mother patted him on the shoulder and set his pie before him. 

“I’m sorry sweetie,” she said softly. “I just can’t understand what got into him.” She peered at his bruised jaw and tsked under her breath. 

“He’s an asshole,” Sean muttered. “I better not see him while I’m here or he’ll be running into my fucking fist.” 

“Don’t, Sean,” Aaron chided, poking at his pie. It was peach pie, his favorite – his mother had never cared much for it, but she must have picked it out just for him. “It’s done. His friend was killed, he needed someone to be mad at…I can take it.”

“I don’t give a shit that you can take it,” Sean was getting angry now, raising his voice. “He’s already down at Jimmy’s telling everyone you didn’t even know about Haley and Mark like that’s something to be proud of. I got a text from Les, he said Henry’s already piss drunk and talking about you. What a prick.”

“It’s fine Sean,” Aaron said, trying to keep his voice soft. “His brother just got arrested for murder. He can say what he wants about me, he’s got bigger problems now.” Sean shrugged and took a huge bite of pie, chewing noisily. He was still angry. Maybe now at Aaron, who was just so willing to roll over and take it. 

“So David, I want to hear all about your books…Aaron tells me you’re a novelist?” Aaron’s mother said, sliding her chair a little closer to Dave than he’d prefer. Aaron glanced up at Dave and grinned at the sight. Sean shuddered. 

“God, mom, keep your pants on…you know he and,” Sean started, but Aaron kicked him under the table. Sean yelped at the sudden pain in his shin. 

“If you say another word, I will take you outside and see to it that Henry can legitimately pick me up for murder this time. Understand?” Sean nodded, rubbing at his shin. He watched as Dave told their mother all about his novels, book tours, all of the excitement of being a published novelist and scowled, leaning over toward Aaron. She had scooted even closer to him and was laying it on thick. 

“You’re just gonna let mom flirt with him? Gross.” Sean was whispering now, leaning close to his brother. Aaron kicked him again. 

“The alternative is a conversation I’m not prepared to have with mom right now. He can handle himself.”

“Sick. Just sick.” Sean laughed, shoveling the rest of his pie into his mouth and reaching over to dig into his brother’s, which was as yet untouched. Aaron didn’t stop him.

“Mind your own business,” Dave shot from across the table with a wink before going back to regaling their mother with stories of book signings and crazed fans. Sean rolled his eyes. 

“I know where he’s sleeping tonight,” Aaron whispered into Sean’s ear, and the younger man gagged and left the table abruptly, letting Aaron finish the rest of his pie in peace. It was the best part of his entire day.


End file.
